Kings County's Measure K comes up agonizingly short on election night

By Ed Martin, The Leader Editor
Lemoore Chief of Police Darrell Smith (center) and Lemoore City Manager Andi Welsh and Councilmember Jeff Chedester, wait for returns.
Lemoore Chief of Police Darrell Smith (center) and Lemoore City Manager Andi Welsh and Councilmember Jeff Chedester, wait for returns.

The mood in Lemoore’s Railroad Depot Tuesday night was upbeat. As supporters of Measure K munched on tri-tip and salads, most appeared confident about the prospects for passing the public safety measure, a .25 percent increase in the sales tax offset by the demise of Proposition 30, which sunsets in December.

The plan was that Measure K would redirect the additional .25 percent sales tax revenue to a fund specifically earmarked for fire and police operations and infrastructure throughout Kings County, which includes the cities of Hanford, Lemoore, Avenal and Corcoran.  It is conservatively estimated that Measure K would generate up to $4 million annually. 

Lemoore Councilmember Ray Madrigal and Lemoore Fire Chief John Gibson wait for returns in the city's Depot.
Lemoore Councilmember Ray Madrigal and Lemoore Fire Chief John Gibson wait for returns in the city's Depot.

Even at 7.5 percent, Kings sales tax is still a bargain when compared to nearby cities, including Visalia 8.25 percent, Fresno 8.225 percent, Tulare 8.5 percent, Reedley and Selma 8.725 percent.

Top law enforcement officials, including Kings County Sheriff Dave Robinson and Lemoore Police Chief Darrell Smith remained optimistic as they waiting patiently for Kings County elections returns to trickle in – which they didn’t.

It wasn’t until the final tally at 5:45 a.m. that local numbers finally came in. The semi-official numbers revealed that Measure K lost by the narrowest of margins, garnering 66.37 percent, which in most elections would be a landslide, but due to the nature of Measure K, needed 66.6 percent to pass, a two-thirds requirement.

Measure K received 11,761 out of 17,720 votes cast. It would have needed just a few more votes to pass. There are still a few provisional ballots to be counted, which could change the outcome.

Of the 48,523 voters registered in Kings County, only 18,416 voted on election day. Most did so by mail, turning in 14,729 votes.Lemoore Mayor Lois Wynne was one of the city officials on hand Tuesday night, and she was optimistic early on. “It’s looking great and hopefully we’ll improve, and there are still other votes out there,” she said before all the votes were counted the next morning. “I think it’s really important to get this passed because we really need the extra support for police and fire, and I think it will be a boost to all the departments in the county.”

Lemoore’s share of the more than $4 million expected to be raised by the passage of Measure K would have been roughly $675,000, all for public safety, to go to the police and fire department.

“I think it is very important that they vote for this,” said Lemoore Fire Chief John Gibson, who was also on hand Tuesday night waiting for elections results. “I think we’ve worked really hard on the campaign, and I think that there are lots of benefits to the city and the county. We’re not raising taxes. We’re keeping it as the same rate level and I think that at the end of the night I think things will turn out.”

Kings County’s top law enforcement officer, Dave Robinson, was also on hand and early on was optimistic as he saw early returns at 66.33 percent. He also lauded the campaign effort over the past few months that got the Measure so close to passage. “We had a great team effort,” said Robinson who helped spearhead the campaign for Measure K. “We really pushed this measure and tried to educate the voters so that way they could at least be informed when they stepped into the polling place.”

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